


and the beauty of it all

by nether1te



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Karl Jacobs-centric, Minecraft, No beta we die like lmanburg, Oneshot, Web Series: Tales from the SMP, i am evaporating, mcyt - Freeform, tfts, this took me way too long, time traveler karl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nether1te/pseuds/nether1te
Summary: after being invited to a gruesome party, time-traveler karl jacobs is transported to a world of heavenly light and gorgeous scenery.
Kudos: 33





	and the beauty of it all

* * *

There was a fine line between life and death, and Karl was balancing ever so carefully on it.

He was teetering on the tightrope that held him back from dying, on the brink of falling from the rope and meeting his doom. He was close, very close, to his end.

What had started as a palatial ball filled with self-obsessed classists had quickly devolved into a fight for survival. Frequent gruesome murders had ridden the party, and every guest was a suspect. Not a soul could be trusted- not even Karl himself.

Turning the corner faster than he could comprehend, Karl sprinted down a hall grandly decorated with elegant red carpeting. His eyes met Billiam's- the party host was standing nonchalantly at the end of the corridor, sipping fine wine from a crystal glass, an unbothered expression upon his face. Relief washing over him, Karl halted by a trio of grandeur paintings. "Billiam," the young man panted desperately, "can you take me to a hiding place? Please?"

The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously, studying Karl with a judging stare. "Why should I trust you?" he inquired sharply. He took another elegant sip of the wine.

Karl opened his mouth, thinking of a way to convince Billiam to usher him away, and was cut off abruptly by the glowing silhouette of the ball's crazed terrorist. Billiam gaped, appalled by the lengthy sword the person was gripping, and quickly set down his class, glancing hastily around the petite room for a way out.

"Of course," he breathed, peeling a painting from the wall. Karl watched, starstruck, as the alluring artwork revealed another long hallway made of urbane, finely-cut stone. "This way," the affluent man murmured hurriedly.

Down the hall, chilled by a breeze that blew through the shafts abovehead, to an odd crimson egg embedded into the wall. Brushed by the vines that hung from the ceiling, dancing over the heads of the two men as they studied the egg.

"The egg," Billiam laughed; his voice was tinted with something that sounded strangely like relief. Weirdly, he seemed to be addressing the bright red egg, smiling broadly in its presence.

An echoing creak from down the corridor gave Karl the impression that someone had opened the hidden painting door. A sharp _click_ let him know that it had been locked, sending a spurt of panic throughout him. Adrenaline kicked in as he grabbed Billiam's arm, spluttering in desperation.

Billiam rested a calm hand upon Karl's shoulder, wearing that same unsettlingly cheerful smile. His eyes were glassy- making it even harder to tell his emotions than before- and he look like a lost child, worriedly asking surrounding adults if they knew where his family was.

"Don't worry," he said smoothly; his voice was almost soothing to Karl's panicked ears. "You don't need to fret when the egg's around."

Billiam's sudden mood change was like whiplash to Karl, as he'd be frantically dragging the young man down the hall just moments before. Brushing Billiam's hand from his shoulder, Karl glanced up, his eyes widening and his brows furrowing as he locked gazes with the quiet butler, who was wielding an acute dagger.

Backing away, Karl watched as the butler dropped the dagger, coming to his knees next to Billiam. The two appeared to be talking to the egg- they whispered words unbeknownst to Karl, words that floated through the air and seemed to make the egg quiver.

They stood in sync, a sight that was terrifying to Karl. The butler picked up the blade once again, pointing at Karl with a blank smile. "It's alright," he said in a voice that would have been reassuring under any other circumstances. "You don't need to be afraid. Your sacrifice will benefit the egg. It will benefit us. Think of your death as a way of helping us."

A silver point, glinting in the dim light of the dungeon, rushed towards Karl's exposed neck. He was falling from the tightrope, plummeting in a defeated spiral towards the ground below. The rope had snapped; he was soon to meet his fate. And as the dagger neared Karl's pale neck, as he felt drops of pure red blood even brighter than the egg shower his shirt, as he felt the life drift from his body, Karl's world was swathed in a blanket of shimmering white light.

-

"Where am I?"

Karl hesitantly breathed the words aloud to no one in particular. He stared around a tall room supported by gorgeous, pearly-white columns. Starting slowly past a table upon which a contrasting black wither rose sat, Karl's gaze rested upon a shining leatherbound book sitting on the shining marble floors.

He picked up the book, turning it in his hands. Prying open the cover, he flipped through the yellowed pages, scanning the elegant calligraphy etched into the book. _This is the inbetween_ , the first page read. _A world you've been to a few times now_.

An unnamed person seemed to address Karl, informing him about the strange world he'd been so suddenly put in as he wandered throughout the halls of the palace. He came across a beautiful birch tree, stretching high above Karl's head as he sat contently on a swing below it, admiring the glimmering leaves.

His face fell solemnly as he read the words of another novel, this one telling him that he was losing himself, and eventually he'd be lost past the point of return. One day, Karl would fall off the tightrope once more, and there would be no inbetween to save him from peril.

The anonymous author wished him good luck.

Karl walked through the winding white corridors of the castle, a wave of calm overtaking him. He felt at home in the odd place, though he felt unfamiliar with the world. He started his way up spiraling stairs that took him to the top of a steeple that towered high above the rest of the palace. Another novel rested upon a marble sill, and he picked up the glimmering book, dreading the contents of the book but accepting that he had to read it.

The new novel informed Karl that he was beyond a descision, that he had no choice but to comply and continue traveling through time. The book told him that it was imperative for him to construct a new library, for him to preserve the valiant tales of his adventures. As the book came to a conclusion, and as the author bid him farewell, Karl felt himself being pulled back into the heavenly light.

-

He was home. Back at last, at the one true place he could call home. Karl wanted nothing more than to sink into a comfortable armchair, to tell Sapnap and Quackity of his feats, but he knew he couldn't. He had no choice. Brushing softly past his fiances as they spotted him, waving cheerily and heading his way, Karl dashed to his small house, tearing open the door and squeezing through the hidden entrance to his library.

Carefully, the young man excavated a hole beneath his home, moving his piles of books to the makeshift room. He set the books upon haphazardly-made shelves and the rough stone floor. Sitting uncomfortably on the ground, crossing his legs over one another, he lifted an empty journal into his lap and put a quill to the page.

Tapping his pen thoughtfully against his lip, and dipping the pointed end into a shallow bottle of ink, he began to write, _The inbetween... a place I don't quite understand._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> this was done over the course of three hours while listening to the mario kart odyssey ost on constant loop  
> i'm considering doing more tales oneshots in the future!! :]  
> n e ways. i hope you enjoyed this one :DD


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